Trump to award the Artemis II crew the Congressional Gold Medal for their contribution to space exploration
Kyiv • UNN
The Artemis II crew will receive the award on August 28 in Houston. The astronauts became the first in more than 50 years to orbit the Moon.
US President Donald Trump will award the crew of NASA’s Artemis II lunar mission the Congressional Gold Medal on August 28 for their contribution to space exploration. A White House representative told CBS News, UNN reports.
Details
The ceremony will take place at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The medals will be awarded to NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, as well as Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.
The four astronauts became the first people in more than half a century to fly around the Moon. The Artemis II mission lasted 10 days.
Thirty astronauts have previously received the Congressional Gold Medal, including Neil Armstrong and John Glenn. Posthumous awards were also given to the astronauts who died in the fire aboard "Apollo 1" and in the disasters involving the "Challenger" and "Columbia" space shuttles.
The most recent recipients of the medal were astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken, who in 2020 became the first people to travel into orbit aboard a commercial spacecraft. In 2023, US President Joe Biden presented them with the awards.
The US president awards the Congressional Gold Medal on the recommendation of the head of NASA. Under the rules, it may be awarded to astronauts who "have distinguished themselves through exceptionally outstanding efforts and contributions to the welfare of the nation and humanity."
NASA names four astronauts for the historic Artemis III mission09.06.26, 20:10 • 9436 views